Having Faith: Trusting God When Feelings Change

Memory Text

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV).

Having faith begins where sight ends, but it does not ask us to close our eyes to what God has already shown.

Have you ever prayed something like this?

“Lord, if You just show me one clear sign, then I will believe.”

Maybe we have not said those exact words, but the thought is familiar. If God would only answer this prayer, open this door, heal this sickness, fix this situation, or make His will unmistakably clear, then faith would be easier.

But would it?

Israel saw the Red Sea open. They saw manna fall from heaven. They saw water come from the rock. They saw the cloud by day and the fire by night. Yet, again and again, they still struggled to trust God.

So maybe the problem is not always a lack of evidence. Maybe the deeper problem is what we do with the evidence God has already given.

This week’s lesson brings us to the heart of Christian experience: faith. What is it? How does it grow? What do we do with doubt? And what does it mean, especially as Adventists, to have “the faith of Jesus”?

Read on!

This lesson also connects with Practical Prayer and How to Study the Bible, because having faith is never separated from prayer or from the Word of God.

In This Lesson

The Problem With Signs

Let’s begin with a sobering scene in the life of Jesus.

Mark 8:11-12 NKJV

The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, but He “sighed deeply in His spirit.”

Why did Jesus sigh?

Was it because He had no sign to give? Absolutely not! By this point in His ministry, He had already healed the sick, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, fed multitudes, and taught with an authority that no rabbi could match.

The problem was not that Jesus had failed to give evidence. The problem was that the Pharisees refused to surrender to the evidence already given.

There is a kind of question that is honest. God is not afraid of that. Abraham asked questions. Moses asked questions. Job asked questions. Even Mary asked, “How can this be?” God can handle honest questions.

But there is another kind of question that does not really want an answer. It only wants an excuse not to surrender.

That seems to be what is happening in Mark 8. The Pharisees were not asking for a sign in order to believe. They were asking for a sign in order to test Him.

Isn’t that sobering?

Sometimes we think more evidence will automatically produce having faith. But the Bible shows us that evidence can be resisted. A heart that does not want to yield can stand in front of a miracle and still ask for another one.

Hence, having faith is not God performing on demand. Faith is the heart responding to what God has already revealed.

John 20:29 NKJV

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

This does not mean blind faith. God has never asked us to believe without reason. He has given us creation, Scripture, prophecy, the life of Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, and our own experiences of His providence.

The issue is not whether God has spoken.

The question is: Are we listening?

Having Faith Is Not a Feeling

Now, let’s deal with something very practical.

Many of us measure our faith by our feelings.

If we feel close to God, we think our faith is strong. If we feel spiritually dry, we think our faith is gone. If we feel joy in prayer, we think God is near. If we feel nothing, we assume God has withdrawn from us. But having faith cannot be measured only by those feelings.

But that is dangerous.

Feelings change. They can be affected by sleep, health, stress, disappointment, guilt, success, failure, and even a difficult conversation before breakfast. If having faith is based on feelings, then faith will rise and fall with our moods.

Ellen White wrote:

“Feeling is not faith.”¹

Short, but powerful.

What?! Yes. Having faith is not the same thing as feeling.

Feelings may accompany faith, but they are not faith. A person may feel happy and still be far from God. A person may feel weak and still be holding on to Jesus.

A young person once came to me and said, “I’m not sure if God can still forgive me. My sin is too great.”

He had been a Christian for many years.

We sat.

“Have you asked for forgiveness?” I asked.

“Many times.”

“I know you already know this verse, but just open it: 1 John 1:9. Can you read it?”

He read the verse.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I asked, “Did you sin?”

“Yes.”

“Have you confessed?”

“Yes.”

“Are you forgiven?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Read it again. Slowly this time.”

He read, “If we confess our sins…”

There was a long pause. I knew he was under conviction.

Then he continued, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

“Did you sin?”

“Yes.”

“Have you confessed?”

“Yes.”

“Are you forgiven?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“It says so right here.”

Did you catch that? His feelings were telling him one thing. The Word of God was telling him another. Faith chooses to believe the Word of God over the instability of our feelings.

This is why I love the prayer of the father in Mark 9:

Mark 9:24 NKJV

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

What kind of prayer is that? It sounds almost contradictory, doesn’t it?

“I believe.”

“Help my unbelief.”

But isn’t that where many of us are? We believe, but not perfectly. We trust, but we tremble. We know God is good, but the situation still scares us. We know His Word is true, but our hearts sometimes lag behind.

And what did Jesus do? He did not reject the man for admitting weakness.

That’s comforting.

Faith is not pretending we have no doubts. Faith is bringing our doubts to Jesus. Faith is not boasting that we are strong. Faith is admitting our weakness before the only One who can strengthen us.

So when spiritual feelings are absent, what do we do?

We still pray. We still open the Word. We still obey. We still come to Jesus. Not because our feelings are strong, but because Jesus is faithful.

Romans 10:17 NKJV

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Faith grows when the Word of God is heard, believed, and acted upon.

Jesus Sees Faith

One of the striking things in the Gospels is that Jesus notices faith.

Sometimes He notices great faith. Sometimes He notices little faith. Sometimes He notices no faith. But He notices.

Notice the contrast.

The disciples were close to Jesus. They heard His sermons. They saw His miracles. They traveled with Him. Yet Jesus could still ask them:

Mark 4:40 NKJV

“How is it that you have no faith?”

That should humble us. Proximity to religious things does not automatically mean deep faith.

You can be near sermons and still not trust. You can be near church and still not surrender. You can be near the Bible and still not take God at His Word.

Now compare that with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15.

She was not part of the covenant people. She did not have the same privileges as Israel. The conversation was difficult. The silence was painful. The disciples were not exactly welcoming.

And yet she held on.

Matthew 15:28 NKJV

“O woman, great is your faith!”

Did you catch that?

Jesus called her faith great.

Then there is the Roman centurion in Luke 7. He understood authority. He believed that Jesus did not even need to come physically to his house. If Jesus would only speak the word, that would be enough.

Jesus marveled.

Luke 7:9 NKJV

“I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

Again, surprising!

Those who seemed far away sometimes had great faith. Those who seemed close sometimes had little faith.

What does this teach us? Faith is not measured by background, vocabulary, position, or religious familiarity. Faith is measured by surrender to Jesus.

The Canaanite woman held on to His mercy. The centurion trusted His word. The father in Mark 9 brought even his unbelief to Him.

That’s faith.

Not perfect faith. Not polished faith. But faith that comes to Jesus.

The Faith of Jesus

Now we come to a verse very familiar to Adventists.

Revelation 14:12 NKJV

“Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

We love this verse. And rightly so.

But sometimes we emphasize one half and neglect the other. We talk about the commandments of God, but not enough about the faith of Jesus. Yet the text holds them together.

Commandments of God.

Faith of Jesus.

Law and gospel.

Obedience and trust.

Ellen White warned that “the faith of Jesus Christ” must be proclaimed with the commandments of God.² In other words, Adventism without the faith of Jesus becomes cold, dry, and mechanical. But faith that ignores the commandments of God becomes vague and empty.

The Bible does not separate what God has joined together.

So, what is the faith of Jesus?

It certainly includes faith in Jesus. We trust Him as Savior, Lord, Mediator, and coming King. But the phrase also points us to the faith Jesus Himself lived by: His trust in the Father, His surrender to the Father’s will, and His dependence on the Father even in the darkest hour.

Look at Gethsemane.

Matthew 26:39 NKJV

“Not as I will, but as You will.”

That is faith.

Not faith surrounded by comfort. Not faith with every question answered. Not faith when the feeling is pleasant. This is faith under the weight of the sins of the world. Faith when the body is trembling. Faith when the cup is bitter. Faith when obedience means suffering.

And yet Jesus says, “Not as I will, but as You will.”

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Hebrews 11 gives us many examples of faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, and many others. Their lives are worth studying. Their stories inspire us.

But Hebrews does not end by telling us to stare at the heroes of faith.

It tells us to look somewhere else.

Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

That is the secret.

If you look at your faith long enough, you might get discouraged. If you look at other people’s faith long enough, you might compare. But if you look to Jesus, faith begins to grow.

Because Jesus is not only the Example of faith. He is the Author and Finisher of it.

Conclusion

This week’s lesson is not calling us to manufacture faith by trying harder. Having faith is not self-generated courage. It is calling us to look to Jesus.

When we are tempted to demand signs, let us remember what God has already revealed. When feelings are absent, let us hold on to the Word. When doubts trouble us, let us bring them honestly to Jesus. When we read Revelation 14:12, let us remember that God’s final people do not merely defend truth; they reveal the faith of Jesus.

Here is the good news: weak faith can still come to a strong Savior.

The father in Mark 9 did not have perfect faith. But he came to Jesus. The Canaanite woman did not have an easy path. But she held on to Jesus. The centurion did not have the religious privileges of Israel. But he trusted the word of Jesus.

So where do we go when faith is weak?

To Jesus.

Where do we go when feelings are gone?

To Jesus.

Where do we go when doubts are heavy?

To Jesus.

No wonder Hebrews says, “Looking unto Jesus.”

May that be our prayer this week: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

And may God make us a people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.

Discussion Questions

What is the difference between asking God an honest question and demanding a sign because we do not want to surrender?
How do you usually respond when your feelings do not match what you know from God’s Word? What does having faith look like in that moment?
Why do you think Jesus commended the faith of people who seemed like outsiders?
What does the phrase “the faith of Jesus” mean to you personally?
In what area of your life right now do you need to pray, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief”?

Endnotes

Ellen G. White, Early Writings (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1882), 72.
Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 3 (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1980), 172.